Liverpool defender Nat Phillips has joined Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season.
The 24-year-old completed his move to the Championship promotion hopefuls on deadline day, having been keen to secure regular first-team football.
Liverpool will secure a loan fee of £1.5m ($2m), with an extra £250,000 ($335,000) due if the Cherries secure promotion to the Premier League.
Why is Phillips leaving?
The former Bolton centre-back enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Anfield last season.
With the Reds engulfed by a defensive injury crisis, Phillips stepped up to play 20 games in all competitions, helping Liverpool recover from a mid-season slump to finish third in the Premier League and secure qualification for the Champions League.
But the return of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, plus the signing of Ibrahima Konate, has pushed Phillips down the pecking order.
As such, he has made only three appearances this season, only one of which was a start. That came against AC Milan in the San Siro in December, but he suffered a fractured cheekbone in that game which ruled him out of action for more than a month.
Liverpool had insisted that Phillips would not be allowed to leave on loan this month, and in fact rebuffed approaches from Premier League clubs in Watford and Leicester, but they relented on deadline day and Phillips will now look to make an impression on the South Coast.
He joins a team with plenty to play for. Scott Parker’s side are third in the Championship, but have a game in hand on second-placed Blackburn and are only six points behind leaders Fulham. They will be hoping to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League come May.
What about Neco Williams and Fabio Carvalho?
Bournemouth are also, GOAL understands, exploring the possibility of signing another Liverpool player, Neco Williams, on loan before the 11pm GMT deadline.
The Wales international right-back is another who is seeking more regular game-time, and Liverpool would be willing to sanction a deal.
As of Monday lunchtime, however, there had been no progress on that deal, nor on Liverpool's £5million ($6.7m) bid for Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho.
Further reading
- From Benzema to Bolton: Liverpool cult-hero Phillips' strange season
- Klopp compares Phillips' improvement to Lewandowski
- Liverpool looking for £5m Carvalho deal on deadline day
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
